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Publisher's Summary

Sir Ian McKellen, fresh from his performance as Gandalf in Lord of the Rings, is Prospero, and heads a strong cast in Shakespeare's last great play. The wronged duke raises a tempest to shipwreck his old opponents on his island so that he can ensure justice is done. With Emilia Fox as Miranda, Scott Handy in the pivotal role of the sprite Ariel, and Ben Owukwe as Caliban, this new production, directed by John Tydeman, balances the magic and the earthiness, with music playing a key role.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

No narrator. This is recorded as a stage play. You get a different actor for every part.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No extreme reaction. Of course I was already familiar with the story.

Any additional comments?

Be prepared to rewind every now and then to catch what was said when the actors whisper. Having a hard copy of the play would probably help. Of course, then you could just read it.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Jeremy R. Snyder

Erie, PA USA

18/02/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"A stellar performance by a stunning cast"

If you enjoy Shakespeare's comedies you should not miss out on this edition of The Tempest. Sir Ian McKellen as Prospero is everything you might hope for and more, which is no surprise from an actor of his caliber. The remainder of the cast excels similarly and the recording is produced seamlessly. This audio performance is a real treat.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Justin

10/11/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Gandalf is great"

I've always had trouble following Shakespeare plays in text. It's difficult for me to identify the tone of the scene, and the story becomes hard to follow.

Listening to these voice actors solves that problem. It's easy to follow the story when the lines are being delivered with the correct emotion.

That being said, The Tempest is a bit romantic for me, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Ian McKellen could literally read a dictionary to me and I would like it.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

Ardneh

Washington, DC United States

26/04/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"Delightful Performance"

A wonderful performance of "The Tempest". I particularly enjoyed Ian McKellen and Emilia Fox as Prospero and Miranda.

I believe this is a recording of an actual performance and that is the cause of my one complaint. There are very few or no clues to distinguish between Sebastian and Antonio. To my ear, their voices are close enough that it's a bit difficult sometimes to separate the two. (In the actual performance this wouldn't have been an issue.) Since I'm familiar with the play, it didn't bother me too much, but it did throw me a bit at first.

I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in "The Tempest".

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

David

Halifax, NS, Canada

01/12/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"Good, not perfect"

This is a perfectly decent recording of The Tempest. Sir Ian is an excellent Prospero and the rest of the cast are competent, although the Caliban is a bit awkward, The sound quality is a little murky sometimes.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Dana

Providence, RI

10/09/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Excellent audio edition"

Would you consider the audio edition of The Tempest to be better than the print version?

I purchased this to "hear along" as I read the text. Although the performances really bring the characters to life, it may be hard to follow without the text in front of you.

Any additional comments?

I hesitated to buy this because other reviewers complained about storm noise, etc. That is really only an issue in the very first scene, and the speech is clear enough over the storm. (And, let's be honest: the play is "The Tempest"; the title incident deserves to be heard a bit, right?) The bulk of it is good, clear speech with music interspersed to indicate scene changes and/or the coming and going of spirits (especially Ariel).

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Nicole Livingston

Dallas, TX USA

17/04/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Awesome Narration"

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No, because I don't enjoy Shakespeare. I had to read it for a literature course.

Would you ever listen to anything by William Shakespeare again?

If forced.

Any additional comments?

This narration saved my grade! I just can't get into Shakespeare. Somehow the actors made the story flow for me. Even though I didn't care for the story, I made it through with ease. I had excellent comprehension in just one listen. Normally it would have taken me several readings to translate the Shakespearian verse into something that makes sense to me. No need with this performance. Thank you for making this!

2 of 4 people found this review helpful

Joseph Scarnici

San Juan Capistrano, CA

10/07/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"As if Shakespeare isn't hard enough,..."

The actors and sound effects make it more difficult to understand what the f is going on!Had to listen to it twice to make heads or tails out of it.

2 of 4 people found this review helpful

Amazon Customer

29/05/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"not good quality"

What disappointed you about The Tempest?

I love William Shakespeare, and obviously The Tempest is one of his greatest plays, so I didn't have a problem with that. The reason for such a low rating is purely how book was presented. The background noises was very loud, distracting, and annoying. Then when it came to the speakers I could hardly hear what they were saying! I had bought this book on audible because I thought hearing Shakespeare read out loud would be enjoyable, but instead I found myself cringing every time I turned it on because I was wondering if there was going to be anther part were tons of people were loudly screaming franticly in the background. And usually there was. I have absolutely no idea what was being said in the book. I got the general idea from the bits and pieces I heard, but I'm going to have to actually buy The Tempest in print to read to know what was going on.

1 of 3 people found this review helpful

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